Low-fat diets proven to result in reduced BMI

Reducing total fat intake through the diet can lead to small reductions in body weight among adults and a lower subsequent body mass index (BMI) as a result.

According to new research published in the British Medical Journal, the ideal amount of fat that should be included in the average diet is still unclear.

With the growing global obesity epidemic, the subject has taken on growing importance. Researchers looked at results from 33 randomised controlled trials from North America, Europe and New Zealand involving 73,589 participants in total.

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Their analysis suggested that diets lower in total fat led to a typical reduction in body weight of 1.6kg after six months. That was enough to lower BMI by 0.56kg/m2 and waist circumference by 0.5 per cent.

A correlation was found whereby every one per cent reduction in energy from fat resulted in a 0.19kg fall in body weight.

The researchers, who were commissioned by the World Health Organization, also found statistically significant reductions in cholesterol and blood pressure as a result of consuming lower-fat diets.

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